


Cherry Cigarettes

by sonicsora



Category: Brütal Legend
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Awkward Romance, Bisexuality, Developing Relationship, Eventual Romance, F/F, Femslash, Gen, Pre-Canon, Romance, Sexual Tension, Unhealthy Relationships, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2018-10-15 23:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10559664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonicsora/pseuds/sonicsora
Summary: It all started with a kiss in the heat of the moment. Where will it take them?





	1. She wants to destroy your dignity

“Is there a reason you hate my guts?” 

The question startled the blonde woman from polishing her Halberd, her gaze snapping to Ophelia. The brunette was reclined back in the grass, dark eyes watching the other woman seriously. The sun was dipping behind her almost giving her a halo at this point. 

“You know why.” Lita defensively bit out, grip tightening on the worn rag in her hand. She had to look away now, feeling uncomfortable. This wasn’t the first time they had this conversation. Usually Ophelia backed off after this point, usually she let go. 

Ophelia raised her voice, openly pushing back against Lita looking away. “I am not my parents, Lita. I’ll never be them. I’m _not_ a tear drinker. You should know that by now.” 

“How can I know that for sure?” Lita scowled downwards, hand curling into a full fist now around the rag in her grasp. Usually the conversation died by now, Ophelia would relent and things would go back to what it usually was. Neither of them pushed the issue hard, not wanting to fight, not wanting to upset Lars. Both of them had danced around the topic for years.

Lita could hear Ophelia getting up, dusting grass off of her jeans casually. Too casually for Lita’s tastes. Ophelia had to be planning to come at her. The blonde’s shoulders tensed, readying to fight the other woman. 

“I’ve done everything for this rebellion. Have I ever hurt you or Lars? I’ve never put either of you in danger.” Lita could hear Ophelia drawing closer. “I’ve done everything I could to help. Even when Lars wouldn’t let me.”

“There is alway the chance, how can I-?” She whipped around now, scowling back at the other woman. Lita was decidedly derailed when Ophelia reached out to close the shockingly small distance between them fully. Instead of a fist being thrown, an arm was curled around Lita’s waist and she was drawn forward for a quick peck. 

“You have to trust me. At least a little.” Lita’s mouth fell open at that, openly stunned. Ophelia released her grasp on Lita stepping away. “See you later, Lita.” 

All the blonde could do was gawk openly, only staring as Ophelia walked out of sight.

\---

Ophelia stomach clenched as she tried to stay casual as she walked away. Oh, Ormagoden, oh Ormagoden-‘ rattled through her mind as she realized what she had just done. She had kissed Lita Halford. The woman who hated her guts. 

_’She’s going to kill me. I’m dead.’_ Ophelia dragged a hand down her face wondering what she had just done. Why had she kissed Lita? Some power play? Some attraction?

Ophelia had always found Lita attractive, hell when they were younger she had a crush on the other woman. It was hard not to with how deftly Lita handled her halberd. The quirk of her lips turning into that confident smirk had always left Ophelia feeling very warm all over. Even now she sometimes had that rush of warmth before she could contain it. That crush had quickly been snuffed out when Lita discovered just who Ophelia’s parents were and tried to kick her out of the group. If Lars hadn’t stepped in things would have been very different.

Ophelia did what any rational person did in this sort of situation, run off into the fields and hide behind some statuary to have a mild freak out. When Lars came back later in the day with some food and supplies, both women pretended nothing had happened. Lars at best assumed they had an argument and didn’t press the matter. The status quo settled over the group whilst Lars made small talk about the rebellion.

\---

 

The sun beat down over the three tents that made up Bladehenge’s village. Even with the comforting warmth of the sun, windy season was in full effect. The threat of wind growing stronger made the animal skin tents wobble and shake to some degree. 

Ophelia could only sigh at the sight, closing her eyes against it. She let her head thump back into the grass as she lay on the ground. She had barely gotten her tent to stay upright after the windstorm that swept through the valley the night before. She could only guess she was gonna need to refasten it again. The wooden stakes holding the tent's down wasn't doing much during the windy season.

“Damn.” She sighed audibly at the familiar snap of one of the tent’s stakes being knocked over and the side of the tent flapping up. Ophelia rubbed at her face moving to actually get up. This time it was Lita’s tent that flew up, starting to flap. The brunette was half tempted to leave it, she owed Lita that much given how the blonde hated her guts. 

She shook off the bitterness moving to grab the edge of the tent, careful to not get that close to avoid having it slap back down on her. “Hold still-“ She hissed in frustration, catching enough to keep it steady. The wind was picking up and there wasn’t a lot Ophelia could do to get a better hold. 

Ophelia was only startled at another pair of hands grabbing at the tent. “Don’t let go-“ Lita growled back. 

“I’m not!” She bit back, tightening her grip and yanking down hard. With Lita’s help they could actually get the tent back down. “Why didn’t you fix this?” 

“I did! It just won’t stay down.” Lita was agitated but more focused on holding the tent to get too snarly. Ophelia was thankful of that much, grabbing the loose cord and tying it to the stake and slamming it into the ground. “We need a better way to hold these down.” 

“Any suggestions?” Lita wasn’t exactly snipping at least, clearly wordlessly thankful for the help. Ophelia used a rock to hammer it down back into the dirt. She placed the rock on top of the stake to make sure it stayed down now.

“A stronger base? Something heavier than these wooden stakes.” 

Lita grunted in turn, crossing her arms over her chest. “Only problem is we have to scout to find material for it. We can’t just go our own ways.” 

“Two of us can stay, one can scout.” 

“The problem with that is what if something happens?” 

Ophelia rolled her eyes a little, some old bitterness rising to her chest as she spoke. “If I went I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t care.” 

Lita paused at that, opening and closing her mouth. Her expression stunned. “That- uh.” 

“Point proven.” Ophelia scoffed sharply back. “When Lars is back, we’ll figure it out.” She turned away from Lita, moving towards her own tent only to be startled by the blonde woman grabbing her wrist. Lita tugged Ophelia back towards her. “Don’t walk away from me when we’re talking.” She bit out, clearly frustrated. In all her frustration she fumbled with what to say. “I don’t- I wouldn’t want you to-“ 

“You would!” Ophelia yanked her hand back out of Lita’s grasp. “You’d be happier if I died. Don't bullshit me, Lita.” 

“I would not!” Guilt was clear enough on her features to say she had thought on the scenario a bit too much. Ophelia frowned, frustrated. “Ormagoden’s sake- just admit it! You’d be thrilled if I dropped dead now!” 

“I wouldn’t!” Lita stepped in close, ready to grab at Ophelia again to make her stay put.

“Ophelia! Lita!” Lars calling out made both women step back from one another, glancing in the direction his voice was coming from. Ophelia took the chance to head off, leaving Lita in the lurch. The blonde woman swore lowly under her breath reluctantly following after Ophelia. She could already hear Lars' voice jump up in excitement in whatever he managed to find out there.

All Lita could think about was what Ophelia had said. _Would_ she have been happy if Ophelia died? The thought wouldn't stop niggling at her the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

The windstorm did a fair shake of uprooting their tents once again. That much was enough to spurn Lars into suggesting a supply run. It solved at least one problem in camp. Sort of. Lita and Ophelia were still skating around actually talking to one another. Lars hadn't quite noticed yet. 

Then again, it wasn't all that unusual. The thought made Lita wince as she crouched down to shift through the taller grass. When she found what she was looking for she sat up, turning around partially to catch Lars and Ophelia's attention. The past two hours had been spent trying to find something they could carry that would still be heavy enough for their purpose. 

"This should be heavy enough." She mused holding up some sturdier metal pieces that fell from one of the trees further from their campsite. "If we collect enough we can properly root down the tents." 

Lars perked up, an excited smile curling across his lips as he strode over to examine what Lita had in hand. "Ah, a brilliant idea, sister of mine!" 

"Yeah, it'll make things simpler." Ophelia agreed, not quite looking at Lita. The lack of direct eye contact was annoying Lita, but she wasn’t going to push it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent gathering up the metal pieces, carrying them back with them to their campsite. The argument and that kiss lingered between them. Lita wasn’t sure how to address it. 

An idea came to her when they were restaking their tents. One that left her stomach twisting uncomfortably and heart hammering against her ribs. 

If Ophelia could play this... kiss game, so could she. 

\---

Lita leaned forward jabbing a stick at the animal on the fire, forcing it to turn. Steel Quilled Urchin wasn’t going to feed them that well, but it was the best they could do during the lull of the wind. The windy season made things harder. Animals could smell them coming much more easily now, they startled easier, they proved craftier with the wind bringing every sound to them.

It made hunting a vexing task. One Lita regretted volunteering for. Her only condolence was the fact Lars felt guilty enough to try and track something down to add to their meal. 

Ophelia for her part shockingly didn’t have a pithy remark on the situation, simply nursing a beer bottle spread out across the grass across from her. Lita kept finding her gaze drawn to the other woman, tracing the contours of her legs, eyes catching on the glimmer of the fire reflecting on her studded bracers and belt. 

Lita hesitated, clearly torn before rising from where she sat moving to carefully sit down next to Ophelia. The brunette predictably startled at the sudden close quarters company, dark eyes snapping to look at Lita warily. 

“…Yes?” The suspicion wasn’t unwarranted given the past days interaction. “Did you need something?” 

“Yes.” Lita stated simply, openly hesitating before dipping down to press a kiss against Ophelia’s lips. What the hell was she doing? 

Lita really didn’t know honestly, that was the scary part, but she cupped Ophelia’s cheek in her hand. The brunette initially was too stunned to react before suddenly kissing back. Her beer forgotten in favor of grabbing a fistful of Lita’s vest yanking the blonde down more. 

It was less a kiss and more a battle of wills with lips and teeth. They broke apart for air, breathing heavily. Before Lita could react, Ophelia yanked her down, moving to pin her in the grass. The blonde squawked awkwardly unable to do much.

“Ophelia!” She barked out, struggling against the sudden shift. Whatever vague plan she had was gone now. Ophelia looming over her was distracting. Distracting in a way Lita wasn’t sure what to do with. 

“What is this is?” Ophelia questioned, pressing a hand against Lita’s chest, holding her down. “What are you doing!?” 

“I could ask you the same question! You-“ She sputtered, hating the fact she was turning red. Her sentence trailed off, her next words coming out softer than she expected. The warmth of Ophelia’s hand against the exposed skin of her chest was making the blonde nervous. “You kissed me first.” 

“I…” Ophelia swallowed nervously. “That doesn’t matter.” 

“Excuse me?! How does it not matter?” 

“I- It doesn’t.” She backed off suddenly. Panic written across her features. “I- should go. We need more beer.” Ophelia hopped up, grabbing her weapons and disappearing into the darkness outside of the circle of their fire. 

“What?” Lita barely managed to sit up before Ophelia was gone. “Ophelia!” 

The lack of response warranted a frustrated sound from the blonde. She slammed her hand into the ground, staring off into the darkness with a scowl. With some reluctance she glanced back at the fire.

“Ugh!” Of course, the food had burnt, just… another positive for today. Lita punched the ground again, frustrated and unable to do much beyond aggressively turn the food and yank it off the fire to try and salvage the night.

\---

“Lita?” The blonde woman groaned a little, turning where she lay squinting at the darkness. The campfire across from their tents at best gave her the rough idea it was Ophelia lingering at the entrance of her tent. 

“What?” She snapped back, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. 

“Can…” Ophelia was wringing her hands nervously enough Lita could see it from here. “My tent kind of got ripped. Can I stay with you?”

Lita had to sit up, opening the tent to peer out at the vague form of Ophelia. “Ripped? How?!”

“Can you believe a steel quilled urchin got in when I went to get beer?” Awkward laughter followed that question, earning a frustrated sound from Lita. This was a common issue with Lars, not Ophelia of all people. 

“You left it open?” 

“I forgot.” 

“So sleep there.” She started to close the flap, only to be stopped by cold hands grabbing her own. Lita jerked back, brows vanishing into her hair. How long had Ophelia just laid in her tent with the hole inside of it? Had she planned on just dealing with it? Sudden guilt stayed the blonde's hand considerably. 

“Please. I’m kind... of freezing out here.” Ophelia pleading was new. Strange. Lita would normally drag it out, maybe a little, but was too tired and now cold to bother. Beyond that it didn't feel as fun as it normally would have to give Ophelia some shit.

She simply sighed, scrubbing her face with her hands. “Get in here.” She scooted aside to give the smaller woman some room. The tent wasn’t that large to begin with. Two of them with two bed roles was considerably tight. Lita knew she'd be sleeping pressed against the side of her tent tonight.

“Thank you.” The genuine thankfulness in Ophelia’s voice was hard to miss. She stepped in gingerly, carrying her sleeping pelt with her. “I- it felt weird asking Lars. I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.” She gave an awkward soft laugh, letting her sentence trail off there. 

Lita grunted in response, trying not to dwell on the discomfort the idea brought her. She moved to re-secure her tent’s opening against the wind. She flopped back down on her bed furs trying to settle again. Normally the idea of Lars and Ophelia being close was annoying at best. Now it made her... uncertain. 

“Just sleep.” 

“Yeah. Right…. Thanks.” Lita listened to Ophelia settle, refusing to look in her direction. This was only for tonight. Then Ophelia would go back to her own damn tent. 

Lita stared up at the ceiling of her tent, crossing her arms over her chest. Ophelia was… close. Very close. Lita could literally smell the winds on the other woman, and that distinctive earthy smell only Ophelia had. For a tear drinker she didn't smell awful. 

Why was her heart going crazy like this? She pressed a hand against her chest, forcing herself to breath slowly and evenly. Even then she couldn’t sleep like this. At best she managed to just stare into the darkness with no real goal being achieved. Long enough that Ophelia had already dropped off to sleep besides her.

She finally cut her gaze back to the other woman, tracing the shadow of Ophelia’s face with her eyes. Cautiously, she reached out to stroke her thumb across Ophelia's cheek. Her skin was still decidedly cold to the touch from the winds outside. Her skin was also... very soft. 

Lita withdrew her hand nervously pressing it against her chest. 

\---

The next morning was awkward. Lita already knew it was going to be, but awakening to it was hardly great. At some point Ophelia had moved closer to her during the night and her hand latched onto Lita’s arm. She blinked sluggishly staring at the hand holding onto her. Her gaze flicked back up to Ophelia’s peaceful face, taking in her features in the morning light. 

The urge to touch her cheek rose again and was quickly snuffed out. Lita winced at herself, running her free hand through her hair. 

The blonde growled disentangling herself from the brunette, yanking some pants on before stomping outside of her tent. It was early enough the winds had died down that she wouldn’t need her usual vest. 

“Ah, sister- good morning!” Lars per usual was a ray of sunshine, bright and sunny even if the sky had yet to catch up with his expectations. He was settled in front of the newly stoked fire on one of the logs surrounding it. 

His smile dimmed somewhat as he spared a glance back at Ophelia’s tent. Lita had to wince a little, the tear _was_ bad. It was big enough Ophelia’s clear attempts to seal it had come undone thanks to the winds beating against the fabric. Lars had been nice enough to find her lost things and gather them up next to his tent. 

“Do you know where Ophelia is? I’ve been worried about her, but if I went chasing after her you know she’d… take it badly.” To say the least. Lars babying Ophelia usually never went well. 

“She stayed in my tent.” Lita grumped back, moving to poke at the morning catch Lars had secured over the fire with a stick. He was decidedly more attentive to the meal than she had been the night before. 

“Truly-?” She could hear the surprise in Lars

“Yes.” Lita cut her gaze back to her brother’s incredulous expression. “Would you rather I let her freeze?”

“No, no- I, well. I didn’t expect…” He sunk back into the log he was seated on somewhat, clearly struggling to find a polite way to continue his sentence. 

“Didn’t expect what?” Ophelia cut in, yawning somewhat as she stepped out of Lita’s tent.

Ophelia’s presence was all it took to brighten Lars back up, the man smiling at her fully now. “Ah, good morning, Ophelia!” 

“Morning.” She offered back, lips quirking upwards now into an amused smile. “What’s for breakfast?” Lita was more than happy to stand back and let the two get carried away in morning preparations. Talk of the rebellion was thrown around, excitement making the two laugh and share a smile.

Lita simply drank her beer, avoiding eye contact with Ophelia completely. There was this… odd feeling in her chest she couldn’t classify. Lita wasn’t particularly fond of that. She liked her world simple, easy to understand. Demons were bad, the drowned were bad, humans were good, Lionwhyte being the only exception to the rule. The callous back stabbing bastard. 

Ophelia was complicating things again and Lita wasn’t fond of it. She chewed listlessly at breakfast staring into her beer. She finally glanced back up when Ophelia slid another bottle over wordlessly. Her smile making the blonde feel uncomfortable. “Thanks.” She grunted back, unable to look away fast enough to miss Ophelia’s warm expression. 

Lita was not going to deal with this today. 

“Don’t get too carried away, her tent is still a mess.” She stated simply, cutting off the current conversation completely. Lars gaze finally snapped back to Ophelia’s tent, clearly just remembering it now. “Lita is right! We need to work on that before anything else!” 

Ophelia blinked, nodding some now. “Oh yeah- uh, I can fix it.”

“No, no, no-“ Lars shook his head, clearly already setting his mind to the task. “Let me.”

“Uh, Lars-“

“Don’t worry Ophelia, I’ll have it fixed faster than any of us can finish a keg!” He launched up onto his feet, disappearing into his own tent for supplies before moving to Ophelia’s. 

Repairing the tent went as expected. Lars was eager to help, happy to take over most of the task whilst Ophelia hovered nearby clearly at loss on what to do. 

Lita was glad to be left out, just this once.


End file.
